


When The Room Starts Spinning

by firecracker189



Series: Link But Smaller [5]
Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Caring!Christy, Caring!Jessie, Christy and Jessie are Good Wives, F/M, Gen, Non-Sexual Age Play, Sick Character, Sick Fic, Sick!Rhett, background mentions of the kiddos, big!rhett, but its okay, but little link is worse, but rhett feels like shit, he wants rhett to make everything better, little!link, nsap, sick link is a little bitch sometimes, sick!Link, the boys are mopey because they can't go on vacation with everyone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-04 08:32:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17301326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firecracker189/pseuds/firecracker189
Summary: There's a virus going around the Mythical Crew. Rhett and Link pick it up and, as a result, can't go on vacation with their families. Link drops hard, but Rhett is there to help no matter how awful he feels.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [a_local_lesbian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_local_lesbian/gifts).



> For a_local_lesbian, who wanted to see a bratty little!Link. My brain automatically went to sick fic, so here you go! I hope it's what you wanted! <3

Everyone was excited about taking a break from filming for a few weeks. The crew was in the best spirits as they wrapped filming, and Link hadn’t stopped smiling all day long, something Rhett was grateful for. He’d rather have a happy Link than an overworked strung out hyped up Link. Plus the two of them had managed to score two weeks in Florida with their families, which meant everyone at home was excited too. One more day and the kids would be out of school and they’d be packed and ready to get on a plane at six AM the following morning. In short, it was perfect. 

Until the next morning when Rhett woke at 2AM to stabbing stomach pains and spent the rest of the night trying not to pull some kind of muscle as he crouched over the toilet and vomited what seemed to be everything he’d ever eaten. When he finally rolled over in bed and the room had stopped spinning enough for him to check his messages, he found that Link was down with it too. Which more than likely meant that they’d have to stay home while everyone else went to Florida. Perfect. No big deal, just...out the cost of his own plane ticket there and back. To L.A. Rhett groaned softly and rolled back over, attempting to stabilize his spinning head by putting his hands on either side of his head. He could bitch about the wasted money later, when the light wasn’t stabbing his eyeballs and the mattress didn’t feel like it was being tossed from side to side on the ocean.

The first thing he did when he woke next was open the ginger ale that had been left on the side table for him, sipping slowly and gratefully and rubbing at his angry stomach. He startled a bit as Jessie breezed into the room, hair up in a bun and looking empathetic.

“Feeling any better?” she asked, pressing her wrist to his forehead to check his temperature.

“Not really,” he admitted as she sat down on the end of the bed.

“Forgive me if I don’t kiss you, but someone has to take the kids to Miami.”

“Meant to talk to you about that. Looks like Link has it too, so you and Christy are in charge. The crew’s been coming down with this virus for the last two weeks. Sadly it’s not a one day thing. It’s a full four days, so you two will have to figure something out.”

Jessie patted his blanket-clad foot softly. “Yeah. Sucks that you two can’t come, though. You worked so hard planning this trip for all of us and trying to come up with something nice for the kids to do at the end of school. It won’t be the same without you two. But we understand.” She smiled and pressed a kiss to her fingers, then pressed her fingers to his ankle with a little laugh.

Rhett smiled softly at her antics. “I love you. How’d I get so lucky as to have you for my wife?” 

“You fell hook, line, and sinker for my pickup lines.” she answered smugly as she stood up. “That, and the fact that you’re a tall sexy drink of water. I was a goner the minute I met you. Now rest up, handsome. I want to see you back to fighting fit by the time we get home. I’ve got to go and make sure that everyone packs clean underwear.” She shut the door behind her with a gentle snap.

That left Rhett smiling at an empty room as he fell limply sideways into a pile of pillows. He really was smitten with her. His dreams were full of bad boat trips and airplanes with lots of turbulence. He wasn’t even sure how long he’d been asleep when he launched out of the bed, once again becoming best friends with the bathroom floor. He must have passed out again because the next thing he knew Jessie was back, kneeling beside him and wrapping up a conversation on the phone. “Mm, wha?” The picture of eloquence, Rhett wiped some drool from his face and peered up at her tiredly.

She slid her phone into her pocket and smiled softly. “Hi. I’m sorry you don’t feel better. But Link’s coming over. Figured you two would maybe feel better with company. Misery does love company, right?”

“Sick Link is a bitch to deal with,” Rhett muttered from his place on the floor. He paled even more at her glare. “Uh, sorry. I’d love company.” he groaned, rubbing at his stomach again. “Oh, god, here it comes again,” Rhett curled in on himself, breathing heavily through his nose.

Jessie patted his leg firmly. “Good. I knew you’d be glad for the company.” She seemed pleased with herself as she rummaged in the medicine cabinet. “Here. Sit up for me and see if you can keep this down. Then it’s back to bed for you.”

“Oh, God. This is awful,” Rhett handed her the empty cup, wincing at the horrible taste of the anti nausea meds. “How have they not invented a medicine that tastes good yet?” he lamented, letting her stabilize him once he’d laboriously pushed to his feet. He let her cover him in the blankets and mumbled a tired ‘love you’ as she zipped up her suitcase.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you want a third chapter!

By the time Rhett pulled out of his sick spiral long enough to stumble into the kitchen, Link was curled up on the sofa, the television playing in the background softly and nobody else in sight. “Everyone left,” he croaked quietly. “But they said to hug you for them and that they’ll call in a couple days once we don’t feel so bad.” Link pronounced.

Rhett groaned something that vaguely sounded like a response, hand to his head as he shuffled for the kitchen. He figured he should probably eat something, or at least try to drink something. Rummaging in the fridge, he found a fresh twelve pack of Gatorade and tugged one out for himself and one for Link. After a few deep breaths and some tentative sips of the bright blue drink, Rhett shuffled back into the living room. “Here. Drink something. How’s your head?” he thrust the other bottle at Link.

Link took it and made a lethargic face. “Still hurts. Dizzy. I’ve thrown up twice but there’s no more food left. You?”

“Same.” Rhett muttered, pointing at the bottle when Link hadn’t started to drink yet. Link took a drink and sighed. “Gonna go back to sleep.”  

“No. Drink some more.” Rhett said firmly. “I don’t care if you barf it up later, you can’t just lay around with an empty stomach.” 

Link glared at him but Rhett held up a hand. “I don’t got the energy for that right now, please don’t argue with me. Take a couple drinks more and then you can nap.” 

All Rhett wanted to do was go back to bed and curl up in a little ball, but his legs had other ideas. He collapsed into an armchair and groaned loudly, setting his bottle of Gatorade on the side table. Link appeared to sulk for a moment before taking a few more sips and shakily depositing his own drink on the other table. 

“Rhett?” 

“What, Link?” 

“Sucks.” Link mumbled lethargically. 

“Yeah, it does, bo.” Rhett agreed wholeheartedly, adjusting his position and raising the foot rest, dragging a blanket down from the back of the chair and curling up beneath it. “It really does. Now cover up your toes. You’re freezing me.” he ordered gently. 

Link grabbed at the blanket covering him, tugging gently until his bare toes were covered. “Mm,” he murmured contentedly as he burrowed back down in his little nest. 

“Sleep.” Rhett groaned. 

After a couple hours more of a spinning head and some fitful dozing, Rhett forced himself upright and took another cautious sip of Gatorade. “So far so good.” he mumbled to himself, squinting around the room. “Link?” he called, the volume of his voice grating on his raw throat. Link’s sofa-nest was empty, so Rhett forced his tired legs to carry him up the stairs and peek into the guest room. Still empty. Rhett shuffled tiredly down the hall and looked into his and Jessie’s room. Link was starfished across the entire mattress and wrapped around Jessie’s pillow. “There you are,” Rhett murmured quietly.

“Link.” he poked him in the side. “Link, wake up.”

Link squirmed a little and eventually his eyes popped open to glare tiredly up at Rhett. 

Rhett would have pursued a tack of discussion along the lines of making sure they were both hydrated, but a sudden wave of nausea had him waving Link aside instead. “Scoot over.” he begged. Link grumbled quietly and wiggled his way over to the other side of the bed and Rhett flopped ungracefully onto the mattress, groaning loudly until the bouncing subsided. Once he felt stable enough to risk moving to tug the quilt over himself, Rhett threw an arm over his eyes and sighed contentedly. Okay. Maybe he could just nap a while longer and then they could try the whole chicken broth thing. He thought he remembered seeing some cubes of bouillon in the pantry. 

“Rhett?” The voice was tentative and broke through Rhett’s unpleasant dreams and woke him up instantly.

“Mngh, what’s the matter?” he sat up, surprised to find that for the moment the nausea was gone, although his body still ached and he felt pretty terrible. Link was standing on the other side of the bed looking close to tears. “What happened?” he asked as he put his feet on the floor and stood up carefully. Link pointed shakily and let out a quiet sound of despair. “Huh--oh. Bud,” Rhett hummed in sympathy as he noticed the wet spot. He really should have thought about this, but Link wasn’t...what was it? Regressed? That’s what he’d said it was called, right? Whatever the term, Rhett now had to run damage control. 

“You wanna go take a shower? We should probably both clean up a little. It’d make us feel better.” Rhett mused to himself as he pointed towards the bathroom. “Where’s your stuff?”

“Other room,” Link sounded miserable and small. 

“Okay. Go on and shower up. I’ll get your clothes and take care of the sheets.” 

Rhett quickly stripped the bed down and tossed the sheets in the hamper, going to quickly rinse himself off in the kid’s shower. He felt a bit better after he’d put on clean pajamas, and he padded back to the master bedroom. Link was just standing there in his clean pajamas looking lost, and Rhett reached out his hand. “C’mon, bo.” He murmured, watching as Link came over and latched onto his hand. “We gotta go and get something to eat. We can’t just let our tummies stay empty even if we feel bad.” 

He sat Link down in the couch nest he’d created and let him pick something to watch. That would keep him occupied for a bit while he made them some broth and crackers. He debated a moment and then got down a cup with a lid for Link’s Gatorade. He wasn’t going to deal with blue stains when it still felt like his guts were being lit on fire. Once the kettle had heated the water, Rhett poured it into two bowls and set them on a tray with their glasses of drink. “Alright. Here we go,” he said softly, putting the tray on the coffee table. “I want you to try and eat some of this, alright?” Once he’d set his own things on the table he gave Link the tray to minimize possible mess. “You don’t gotta eat it all, though, ‘cause we don’t want anymore barfing.”

“No,” Link agreed quietly. 

Link was withdrawn, but he managed half his drink and half his broth, Rhett was pleased to note. Once he’d gotten that same amount for himself, Rhett set his dishes back on the table. “How ya feelin’ bo?”

Link shrugged. “Sleepy. Body hurts.” Link’s eyes watered and he looked at Rhett imploringly. “Cuddle.” he demanded. 

“What’s the magic word, Link?” Rhett asked firmly, even as he rose from his spot in the armchair. 

“Please?” Link begged, a tear sliding down one red cheek. 

“Just a minute, bo.” Rhett decided, holding out his hand. “You come on back up with me. I wanna take your temperature real quick. I think you might have a fever.” 

Link stood up slowly and Rhett lead him upstairs, sitting him down on the edge of the tub. “Just wait one minute, bud. Promise we can cuddle in just a minute.” He tugged the thermometer out and placed it against Link’s forehead, waiting for the beep. “Yeah, you’re definitely running a temp there, bo.” Rhett did the same for himself and was unsurprised when his own readout was the same. “Kay,” he put it back in the cabinet. “New plan. We’re gonna take some medicine and then curl up in bed. Sound good?” he gave Link two Tylenol and got two for himself, filling up the plastic cup by the sink. “Take those real quick for me.” Link did as directed, whining softly at the bad taste. “I know,” Rhett said dejectedly, taking his own pills. 

“Bed,” Link whined quietly, seeming younger than the last time Rhett had seen him like this, but then, in his experience, kids did tend to act younger when they were sick. And Link had said that was essentially what happened to him, right? “I know, bo. Come on.” Rhett said softly, leading Link back to where he’d put fresh clean sheets on the bed. 

“Let’s just crawl up here and curl up, huh?”

Link curled up miserably and tugged the blanket up to his chin and Rhett had to chuckle despite the headache pounding away at his temples. Rhett got into bed beside him and Link curled up tentatively beside him and Rhett patted his back. “S’okay. Feels pretty rotten huh, Link?” 

Link nodded and then let out a whine as the nod only made his nausea worse. 

“Does that help?” Rhett massaged Link’s temples and Link melted against his chest. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes,’” Rhett mumbled, keeping up the light touches for a few minutes until Link seemed to be more at ease. Soon enough, Link’s hands were curled into Rhett’s shirt, as if to keep him from going anywhere. Well--one hand was. Rhett let out a soft noise of dissent as he noted Link sucking his thumb. “You shouldn’t do that, bo. It’s yucky.” 

Well, apparently Link didn’t like being told not to do something by someone who’d been his ally so far. He sat up and started to cry, no doubt driven by how bad he felt as well. Rhett sighed heavily as the headache kicked up another notch. “Link, please don’t. Link--” Link scrambled out of bed and stomped his foot.

“No!” howled Link. “You’re a meanie and I never wanna see you again!” he ran out of the room and Rhett sat up slowly, following him. If he didn’t, he was sure a sick and very small Link would get up to trouble or risk puking on the carpet or something. Nobody would be happy about that. “Link,” Rhett called, shuffling down the hallway. He found Link curled up in the corner of the guest room, crying like someone had just kicked a puppy. “Link--” 

“No!” Link sobbed pitifully. “Meanie. Hate Rhett!” he cried, scooting away as Rhett took a step forward. 

“Buddy, I’m sorry. I know you feel real bad right now, but so does Rhett,” He tried third person, like he’d done with the kids when they were toddlers. “Rhett’s real sick too, please come back to bed so we can both have a good nap.” 

Link yowled like Barbara when Jessie had stepped on her little paw and Rhett flinched. “No, no, no,” Link kicked out his feet and Rhett had to grit his teeth. Right, okay. Link wanted to act like a bad kid, he’d get treated like one. 

“That’s enough of your attitude, Link Neal.” Rhett pronounced firmly. He squared his shoulders, swallowed against the nausea, and stepped towards his tantruming friend. “You want to throw a tantrum, you’re going to get punished for bad behavior. We don’t hate anyone and we most certainly don’t yell when we don’t get our way.” 

Link continued to sob loudly and roll around, face turning another shade of red-- this time not from fever, but from exertion as he pushed with his arms and kicked out as Rhett tried to grab him. 

“Link Neal!” Rhett burst out savagely, eyes flashing as he hauled Link up in one swift moment and pinned him with his back to Rhett’s chest. “You’re gonna be still right now and apologize for saying those mean things. If you don’t, you’re gonna get whooped and that’s final.” 

Link squirmed. “No!” he hollered, and Rhett found he was rapidly being given a run for his money with how strong Link was. “No whoopin’, be good!” he squealed. 

“Too late for that,” Rhett grunted, plopping down on the bed and hauling Link across his lap. “You’re gettin’ ten licks for that,” Rhett debated before deciding that it was alright to keep Link’s pajamas on for his spanking. Link was already in a pretty bad way and he didn’t want to distress him further. All this crying couldn’t be good for Link’s poor stomach. He wrapped one arm around Link’s waist and adjusted a little--Link was far lankier than any of his or Rhett’s kids, so he had to maneuver to get Link’s butt over his knee. “Hold still, bo,” he warned. 

He counted every single swat, making sure that Link was never caught unaware, but by the time he’d finished Link was a mess. He hauled Link upright and Link immediately dived for him, clinging on hard. “Didn’t mean to!” he wailed loudly, hiding his face in Rhett’s pajama clad shoulder.

“Shh, hey, it’s alright, bo.” Rhett swallowed down another wave of nausea and hugged him tight. “S’okay, little guy. I ain’t mad. Jus’ hurts my feelin’s when ya say such mean things like that.” He leaned over and grabbed a tissue from the box on the side table. “Y’don’t really never wanna see me again, do ya?” Rhett tapped at Link’s chin. “Turn this way a minute. Gotta get all that icky snot off your face.” Link whined and squirmed as he did so, and Rhett shushed him again as he threw the tissue in the bin. “Cause it’d really make me sad if I lost my best friend,” Rhett told him seriously. 

Link nuzzled at his shoulder softly. “Love Rhett.” Link mumbled tiredly. “Don’t hate.” 

“I know you don’t hate me. I love you too, buddy. Now let’s go back in the bedroom, take some more medicine, and get cozy, hmm?” 

“Feel icky,” Link sniffled, and Rhett rubbed his back softly.

“We’ll get you in bed for a nice nap soon. I think we could both use that.” he tapped at Link’s hip and Link stood up slowly, rubbing at his rear end. “Sorry, bo, but you can’t just act out like that. It’s important that you know that.” he led Link into the master bedroom and stood him by the bathroom door. Grimacing, Rhett knocked back another cupful of anti-nausea meds and held out one for Link. “Drink it all and you’ll feel better.” he promised. Link did so but not without making a face that made Rhett laugh a little. “I know. It tastes awful. Now let’s get to bed, hmm?” 

Link reached out with a pitiful look on his face and Rhett hugged him softly. “C’mon. Get a move on, bo,” He pointed to the bed. “Hold up. D’you need to go potty first?” Rhett asked seriously, not wanting another repeat bedwetting incident. Link nodded shyly and stuck his fingers in his mouth. “M’kay. You do that and I’ll put another blanket on the bed. S’kinda chilly from this fever, don’tcha think?” 

He left Link to his own devices and tossed another blanket over the top of the comforter, turning the bed back down and climbing in with relief. Link joined him a moment later, curling up to him with a whine. “Still hurts your bottom, don’t it?” Rhett drawled tiredly, and Link nodded. “Lay a little more on your side, there you go,” Rhett helped him to adjust and didn’t protest this time when Link started sucking his thumb again. “Good boy. Go to sleep, and we’ll feel better soon, hmm?” Link wiggled until his head was pillowed on Rhett’s shoulder. The extra warmth was appreciated by Rhett’s fever ridden body, the chills making him pull the blankets all the way up to their chins. Not a moment later they were both deeply asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Rhett was sweating bullets by the time he woke up. He stuck his feet out of the blankets and sighed, feeling the warm weight of Link plastered to his side. There was a small wet spot on his shoulder that he was pretty sure was Link’s drool, but he’d let it slide. He ran a hand through Link’s sweaty hair and blinked his gritty eyes. Link was still sleeping peacefully, eyes fluttering fitfully as he dreamed, sucking his thumb gently. He looked relaxed, and Rhett was glad to see it. He peered over at the clock and groaned softly. Not yet five AM and he could already feel his gut protesting the “meal” they’d had earlier. Rolling Link quietly onto his side, Rhett slipped out from under him and hurried to the bathroom, making sure to shut the door behind him so he didn’t wake him up. His efforts were in vain, however, because when he finally did emerge from the bathroom Link was crouched over the trash can. Rhett gave a little hum as he stumbled exhaustedly over to Link. “You too, huh? Again.” He knelt down and rubbed his back as Link spit dejectedly into the can. “You done?” he asked, and once he’d gotten the tired nod he cleared the trash can away, rinsing it in the bathtub before leaving it there to dry. Link was still sitting in the floor, crying softly and sucking his thumb, looking very run down.

 Rhett approached softly and reached out both hands. “C’mon, bo. Up you get, there we go,” Link leaned against him limply and Rhett patted his cheek softly. “I know. We oughta feel real better tomorrow.” he murmured, getting Link back into the bed. “I’m gonna go grab you some more medicine and then get us something to drink. You sit right here and we can watch something on tv when I get back.”

 In a jiffy, Rhett had taken his medicine, grabbed two cups full of water and gotten Link a cup of medicine. “Drink this down,” he murmured. Link didn’t complain about the gross tasting liquid, for which Rhett was grateful as he eased down beside him. He took the medicine cup back from him and held out the lidded cup of water. “You need to drink some water.”

“Don’ wanna,” Link mumbled around his thumb.

“Gotta,” Rhett said firmly.

“No.”

“Yes, Link,” Rhett tapped his nose and Link smiled despite his clear grumpiness. “Look, I’ve got one too, see?” he sipped at his own water and Link begrudgingly took his thumb out long enough to take a couple small gulps himself. “That’s a good boy.” Rhett murmured absently as he flipped on Netflix. He put on The Lion King and threw an arm over Link’s shoulders. “How’s your bottom today? Still sore?”

Link thrust his cup at Rhett insistently and pouted at him softly.

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’,” Rhett was amused despite his fully returned headache. Link kept pouting and wiggled closer, leaning up against Rhett comfortably. “That thumb ever leave your mouth, bo?” Rhett drawled teasingly. Link shook his head and his eyes went wide as if he were afraid of something. “No worries.” Rhett assured, patting his shoulder. “I don’t mind. You’re kinda cute like that, Link.”

Link blushed furiously and Rhett felt like he was going to explode from all of Link’s cuteness.

 After the movie was over Rhett turned to Link softly and pushed his bangs from his forehead. The way Link leaned into the touch made him a little sad, but he quickly covered it with a half hearted smile. “I’m feelin’ a little better. How about you? Think we could go down and have some soup?”

Link mumbled something around his thumb that Rhett couldn’t understand.

“What’s that?”

“Carry!” Link insisted finally, thumb right back in place when he’d finished speaking.

“I don’t think I can carry you, bo,” Rhett said dubiously, though Link seemed to have complete confidence in him. He stood up slowly and let the feeling come back to his legs with a little sigh. “Alright, c’mere and I’ll pick you up.”

Link slid out of bed, looking pleased with himself as he came over to Rhett, shifting shyly on the spot. His bare toes wiggled in the carpet and Rhett shook his head fondly. “Alright,” he repeated, reaching out.

 Link was an armful, no doubt, but thankfully Rhett made it down the stairs without dropping him or breaking any bones. “Now you wait right here,” He grunted, lowering Link onto the sofa. “And I’ll go make some soup.” He patted Link on the head and disappeared into the kitchen. A couple cans of chicken noodle soup later he was ready for Link to come eat. “C’mon in here,” he called as he stuck his head out the kitchen door. Rhett turned back to the counter and dished the soup into two bowls, setting them on the table with two spoons. Link plopped down in one of the chairs and Rhett grabbed his hand gently before he could pick up the spoon. “You be careful, huh? This is hot soup and we don’t want to burn your tongue.”

 Link nodded earnestly and Rhett had to laugh a little as he started into his own soup slowly. “Eat slow. Your tummy is still upset and we don’t want to overwhelm it.” They ate in silence until Link started to rub at his eyes. “You sleepy again? All we’ve done is sleep.” Rhett mumbled, clearing their dishes off the table.

“Story.” Link decided once Rhett came back to the table to herd him back upstairs.

“I uh...story? Yeah, that...that sounds good, huh?” Rhett scooped him up again and carted him up to the bathroom. “But first you’re gonna let me wash your face off and you’re gonna go potty.” He set Link on his feet and got a wet washcloth, wiping at his face quickly to get rid of the dried snot and drool as well as any remnants of the soup. That done he patted Link’s shoulder softly. “Alright, buddy. You go on and go to the bathroom and I’ll think about your story.”

Rhett headed down the hall, hoping there was something in one of the kids’ rooms he could use to keep Link occupied. He found a dusty picture book in the hall closet and swiped it off with the tail of his shirt, returning to the sight of Link curled up in bed looking expectant and sucking on his thumb yet again.

“Alright. Time for a story, hmm? Then you can go back to sleep if you want.”

 


End file.
